5 Ways to Beat the Burnout

Suffering from burnout is an all too common experience these days; we all want to be the best employee, to be the best daughter, friend, partner… the list is endless and in our pursuits to be the best in everyone else’s eyes, we often forget the most important person in our lives. Ourselves.

We get one life, one body, one chance and we often forget to look after ourselves.

Burnout can manifest itself in many different ways – for some it will be the tell tale signs of grab & go culture (weak hair & nails, poor skin), for others it may be the exhaustion and anxiety brought on by the inevitable deadlines that are pushed on us.

I’ve hit this point several time this year and have barely paused to consider the negative effect that living this lifestyle, one I always thought I wanted, has been having on me.

As I feel myself creeping closer to burnout, I try to reclaim some vital ‘me-time’ in order to avoid the tears, the sleepless nights and the full blow meltdown. Because prevention is easier than the cure when it comes to beating the burnout.

Ideally I would of course love to runaway, to lay on a beach with a Mojito (or two ten) in hand and take a real step back from life, but right now that isn’t an option for me; I have work to do, miles to run and skills to learn – so I need to find my solution, motivation and cure elsewhere for a while to get myself through to the light at the end of the tunnel that is December.

So on those days where my motivation is MIA and the burnout is real, here are the steps I take to getting myself back on track…

Re-evaluate … I honestly believe that you cannot achieve anything in life without having goals – sometimes just getting dressed is a goal, others it is to tackle all of the housework in one go before sunset – no matter what shape or form they may take, goals are still goals.

Probably the most important way to beat the impending doom of burnout (and the inevitable existential crisis it brings with it) is to re-evaluate my current goals. Are they still relevant to my life right now? Do they work with my current priorities?

If not, it’s time to mix them up and come up with a new plan of attack instead.

Declutter … Once I have a plan it’s time to press the reset button on life and have a good old clear out – this could be clearing down my social media feeds, banishing those people / accounts that leave me feeling drained or it could be as simple as tidying out that draw (or several) that we all have that is filled with random cables and objects that none of us ever want to deal with.

Basically it’s time to spice up your life … yes I went there!!!

Time-out … Yes, it’s time to send the SOS out to the bench and ask for a time-out, there is no shame in taking time away from the rat race and popping yourself on charge. You wouldn’t expect your phone to last forever without a little down time would you?

So why expect this of your body and your brain?

For me often this means picking up the laptop and having a little 1-2-1 time with my words (as I mentioned in my post on how it’s good to talk, I’m often better at opening up in writing than I am verbally) – but other it means curling up with ‘An Extra Slice’, a coffee and some treats and snacks instead.

Just take time to let your brain unwind, make sense of it all and switch off – whatever way works best for you.

Mindlessness … Engaging in something mindless tends to be my daily action to beat the burnout. At the end of every day I gift myself with 15-minutes of mindlessness – sometimes that may be a little meditation, other it may be playing on The Sims or simply reading whatever book I have on the go.

Mindlessness is probably one of my biggest priorities in life – it is so wonderful to just pass a short period of time with no focus, no worries and no impending sense of doom (except when my Sims set themselves on fire FML).

Glow Up … I don’t believe that a glow up has to take years, requires a massive transformation or huge investment. But I do believe in the magic of a little glow up when trying to ward off the tell tale signs of burnout. Maybe treat yourself to a new outfit (like this babe of a combo from LOTD.COM), revamp your makeup collection or simply paint our nails.

You may have noticed that I do like to change-up my hair every so (read: rather) often and usually that is a sign that the burnout is starting to get real. And yes I have just died my hair back to a rosy shade of brown …

Guess how I was starting to feel?

So there you have it, my favourite ways to avoid burnout – I’d love to hear how you banish the burnout blues? Let me know below and I’ll catch up with you again soon x